CAB RIDES FROM CHENNAI AIRPORT WILL NOW COST MORE; HERE'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

Getting an Ola cab from the Chennai airport of from the Phoenix Mall will now cost you more. In addition to the usual fare charges, Ola has been charging 'transportation hub charges' of Rs 30-60 per trip since August.

The additional charges has been attributed to the convenience offered exclusively to its customers at these said locations.

In a pilot project, both Ola and Uber had been collecting less than Rs 10/trip to and from the airport. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) later floated tenders for the scheme, which was bagged by Ola. Hubs and kiosks of the cab aggregator, separate pickup and drop points were set up in the airport premises in an attempt to reduce waiting time. Similar hubs have already been set up at Delhi and Bengaluru airports.

According to a report in Times of India, AAI charges a license fee for using space inside the airport for kiosks and pickup points. Parking and other fees are also levied from the operator.

In other cities, the riders get an OTP they can use to board the next available cab at the hub. But in Chennai, they have to wait for the assigned cab to reach the pickup spot and hence there is not much difference in the waiting time.